Comparing Tax Rates in the U.S. and Norway

So, how much higher are taxes in Norway? We looked at Davor Sutija's 2009 income tax return—available, like all tax returns in Norway, on the Internet—and calculated a rough estimate for what he would have paid if he lived in the U.S. The CEO of Oslo-based Thinfilm isn't rich enough to be touched by Norway's 1.1 percent wealth tax, but he still paid far more in taxes in Norway than he would have in America, even if he lived in a high-tax state like Massachusetts. Leonard Levine, a C.P.A. in Boca Raton, Florida, and Martin Wikborg, a tax attorney in Ernst & Young's Oslo office, helped us with the calculations.

Oslo

Massachusetts

Florida

Gross salary

$537,000

$537,000

$537,000

Income after deductions

$501,000

$516,000 for state tax $453,000 for federal tax

$479,000

Payroll taxes

National insurance, employee contribution, 7.8% of gross: $42,000

Social Security (6.2% of first $106,800): $6,600; Medicare (1.45%): $7,800

Income tax

Income tax (28% flat rate): $140,000

Surtax (9% on income above $76,000; 12% on income above $124,000): $54,000